No. 4 large company: Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods employee Knicole Rink checks out Jean and Jim Eldridge in Sugar Land. Whole Foods started with one store in Austin in 1980 and now has 335 worldwide. Six of those locations are in the Houston area.

Whole Foods employee Knicole Rink checks out Jean and Jim Eldridge in Sugar Land. Whole Foods started with one store in Austin in 1980 and now has 335 worldwide. Six of those locations are in the Houston area.

Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance

Image 2 of 2

Whole Foods employee Glenetria Lacy sacks groceries on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, in Sugar Land. Whole Foods who employees more than 1,300 people locally was named one of the top work places. ( J. Patric Schneider / For the Chronicle )

Whole Foods employee Glenetria Lacy sacks groceries on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, in Sugar Land. Whole Foods who employees more than 1,300 people locally was named one of the top work places. ( J. Patric

The 20 percent discount on groceries could be reason enough to make employees of Whole Foods Market smile.

But that's only one of the things the Austin-based grocer does to help the work environment. Its core values include an explicit commitment to its workers' "happiness and excellence." It touts several benefits to empower these workers to build careers:

- They can earn a share of the profits based on factors they can control.

- They have stock options and training opportunities.

"Our success is dependent on the collective energy and intelligence of our team members," company spokeswoman Mary Langdon said. "Each and every team member is a valued contributor to the success of Whole Foods Market."

She said the employees, much like the company itself, volunteer, help raise funds and otherwise support community and global causes.

From a single store in Austin in 1980, Whole Foods has grown to a $10 billion publicly traded company with 335 stores worldwide. The first expansion outside Austin was to Houston in 1984, when the chain opened its third store in the hometown of co-founder John Mackey.

Whole Foods employs 1,300 in the Houston area in six stores and a bakehouse. It plans to open at least three more stores over the next two years.